The latest decision by a court in Jodhpur court directing Bollywood actor Salman Khan to appear before it on 28 September in connection with the blackbuck poaching case is giving sleepless nights to the makers of the Colors TV reality show. This was after the district and the sessions court in Jodhpur ordered Salman to remain physically present on 28th September.
A court in Jodhpur had convicted and sentenced Salman to 5-year in jail in the 1998 blackbucks poaching case. Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri of Jodhpur court had acquitted other actors namely Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre in the same case.
Salman had filed an appeal against his sentencing. Last year, a Jodhpur court had acquitted him of submitting a fake affidavit in the blackbuck poaching case. This was after he reportedly lost his licence and documents of his weapons.
The latest development comes just days after Colors TV announced that the next edition of Bigg Boss will begin from 3 October. In the video shared by Colors TV, Salman was heard saying, “Boredom will be shattered, tension’s fuse will go off. The stress will be defeated and hopelessness will be taught a lesson. Now the scene will be reversed. Because, Bigg Boss will give a fitting reply to 2020.
This year’s Bigg Boss has faced a series of rejections from many high-profile names refusing to be part of the controversial reality show. Among those, who had reportedly turned down the offer to be a part of Bigg Boss 14 had included TV actress Nia Sharma, Sushmita Sen’s brother Rajeev Sen, Shekhar Suman’s son Adhyayan Summan and Bhabhi Ji Ghar Par Hain fame Shubhangi Atre.
If this was not bad enough, a Twitter handle, The Khabri, claimed that the Beyhadh 2 actress Jennifer Winget had turned down the offer of a whopping Rs three crore for the whole season of Bigg Boss as she wasn’t very pleased with the negativity attached to the show.
In another blow to the show, India Today later reported that the Salman Khan-hosted reality show was expected to go on air from 27 September, but this had now been pushed to the first week of October. The report had claimed that makers were ‘struggling to get big names for the show as contestants.’ Quoting a source close to the show, the report added that many contestants had backed out at the last minute.
With the Jodhpur Court ordering Salman Khan to remain present in the court on 28 September on 28 September, just days before the start of the new edition of Bigg Boss, makers will be desperately praying that their star host is not dragged into a prolonged legal battle just when he’s required to host the show. That’s because Salman has been a key factor for the success of the reality show.